Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1165 - 277: Deadly Temptation

Chapter 1165: Chapter 277: Deadly Temptation

"Ah, indeed, it has been a long time," Pannis squinted his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade, tightly locked onto two dark figures in the distance. The square was vast, with dozens of modified Demigod Undead magical beasts between them, a distance of several hundred meters. At such a distance, even with a Demigod’s vision, one could only see the outlines of people, yet the inherent energy fluctuations of the two were firmly imprinted in Pannis’s heart, likely unforgettable in his lifetime. With a cold smile on his lips, Pannis, aided by Vivian’s Sound Amplification Magic, gritted his teeth and said, "I suppose both of us have been eagerly waiting for this day with great impatience. Unfortunately, this day has come far too late."

"Of course, meeting one day sooner would mean resolving our mutual hatred a day earlier." Another dark figure also raised their head, their voice slightly shrill, belonging to a woman, "Just as you’re always thinking about killing us, we are always thinking about killing you. We understand clearly that as long as you few remain alive, you will undoubtedly interfere with our plans, disrupt the arrival of our lord, thus, for the Glory of the Lord and to cleanse the disgrace of a hundred years ago, only your deaths can give us peace."

"If you so desire our death, why hide yourselves here?" Pannis sneered mockingly, "Over the years, my whereabouts have never been a secret—it’s quite easy to find me, just like that fellow of yours, Herr, right? He found me quite easily, didn’t he?"

"Herr indeed has returned to the Lord’s side, but he has fulfilled his mission for the Lord’s return," said the female Undead with malice in her voice, laughing shrilly, "What a pity, in recent months, our Lord has begun to respond to our calls. Although the connection is still weak and unable to communicate directly, this already sufficiently indicates one thing, hahaha, the final obstacle has been removed, our Lord has indeed awakened, and your companion’s soul is now facing the Lord’s wrath, enduring eternal torment in the World of the Dead. Such a pity, if only you could personally hear her soul’s wails—I’d love to see what expression you, once our vilest enemy who brought us disgrace, would wear."

"It appears you were already aware of Nellie’s existence," Pannis said, his gaze drooping, the hatred in his demeanor gradually dissipating, his mood becoming increasingly calm, and softly smiled, "You do not understand Nellie at all. Opposed to evil, as long as a single thread of consciousness remains, she will not cease her resistance; even if there is no will left, a soulless shell would not bow to evil. Therefore, I do not believe a word you said. Moreover, I am still alive, and since you are aware of Nellie’s presence, you should then understand what that implies."

"Hmm, I concede that this moment has not yet arrived, but it won’t be long now," a male Undead said as he restrained the angry woman next to him, giving a cold laugh, "As soon as the ritual ends, Death’s Gate will open, and our Lord will reappear in full form. Unfortunately, you won’t have the chance to witness it all."

"Do you think, with us here, we would simply allow your ritual to proceed smoothly?" Pannis’s fingers gently rested on the hilt of his sword behind him, his voice half-mocking, "Or do you really think that these life-twisted monstrosities of yours can delay us long enough for your ritual to finish?"

"Well, if we fought at your pace, ultimately our pets would indeed be completely annihilated, yet we are not foolish enough to follow your pace," the male Undead scoffed, "What? You think you could just dash over here relying on your speed? Yes, you are quite fast; if you disregarded the ladies behind you, you might indeed make it alone, but at a severe cost. However, that’s not the main point. Are you certain you can reach us within five seconds? In just five seconds, we can teleport back to the core ritual chamber, conduct the ritual with alternative sacrifices. Surely, you don’t naïvely think you can break into our ritual chamber with your domain, an area equivalent to a Deity’s Divine Kingdom? Your domain, a subordinate rule, cannot penetrate the superior laws. Hehe, if you don’t believe me, you might as well ask that priestess beside you—she would confirm my words."

"No need, I am well aware that entering the ritual chamber is not possible, although it’s not without ways to break through, but that would cost a lot of unnecessary time," Pannis nodded, "However, if you truly were willing to use an imperfect alternative sacrifice, you wouldn’t have waited until now. Since you are still waiting, it suggests that your threat isn’t really that compelling."

"That only applies to now. If you really start a fight, then we’d have no choice but to use the imperfect method," the male Undead said coldly, "Actually, you don’t need to rush; we simply want to show you something first."

Pannis and the others didn’t need to reply, as the male moribund nodded to himself, and a shadow emerged from behind him. It made its way along the long corridor, passing through a path flanked by undead magical beasts, moving towards the expedition team. As it drew closer, the figure’s appearance became clear; he looked utterly unfamiliar. Everyone was certain they did not recognize him, yet they were still drawn to his presence because his movements were bizarrely peculiar. The slowly approaching figure, rather than walking, was crawling, moving on all fours like a beast, with movements so coordinated it seemed as if he had been crawling for countless years like Lina’s friend Diana. However, Diana could do this because she was raised by wolves from a young age and had grown accustomed to such postures. But the man in front of them appeared to be a regular human, making it puzzling how he could do the same.

"This person looks quite interesting, ha. We have expended a vast amount of Energy of Death and a great deal of effort to complete this experiment," the male moribund said with a cryptic smile, as if presenting his proudest academic achievement, "Although all followers of my lord are masters at toying with souls, no one has ever succeeded in doing this. We are the first. Curious about what happened to this man? Hehe, we randomly chose a test subject, shattered his soul, expelled it from his body, then took a highly domesticated magical beast soul and forcibly implanted it into a body devoid of its own soul. Unfortunately, many initial subjects died due to rejection between the soul and body. However, after constant adjustments, our experiment eventually succeeded. Behold, the first human to possess a magical beast soul."

"You dare toy with life and souls like this." Catherine stared at the moribund who was emitting a proud laugh, her heart filled with anger. Yet, she suddenly noticed that Pannis’ expression had subtly changed, turning very nuanced as if concerned about a troubling issue.

Indeed, Pannis’ worries were not unfounded. The malicious male moribund asked, "How about it, Mr. Dillie? Are you perhaps interested in our research findings?"

Freya’s face changed; from the beginning, she faintly understood Pannis’ immediate concerns. She had to admit, these followers of the evil gods were indeed apt at discovering and exploiting people’s weaknesses to fulfill their own objectives.

"We have studied your past, Mr. Dillie, as well as your friends. We know well that your greatest regret is simply being a magical beast," said the male moribund with a compelling voice, leisurely speaking, "But now, we have ways to fill the void in your heart. I can swear upon the Divine Throne of my lord that this is all true, no lies. We can completely transform you into a young, healthy adult man, and you could even have a powerful Legendary Rank body. With your demigod soul, you can easily regain the strength of a demigod. Of course, all this only requires a little price from you."

Freya was truly concerned. Even a blind person could see the peculiar relationship between Dillie and the Winged twins. It was undeniable that this temptation was fatal for a Scorpion-tailed lion who had been confliculously tormented for centuries. If she were in Dillie’s shoes, she too would not be certain of refusal. But as she was about to say something, Catherine stopped her with a stern glance, halting her thoughts. The princess then anxiously looked at Pannis, who simply shook his head slightly in silence, giving no indication.

"What’s the price?" Dillie, the Scorpion-tailed lion, asked, voicing out the very question the princess dreaded, "Helping you conduct the ritual?"

"Of course not, we won’t put you in such a difficult position," said the male moribund, his voice tinged with malevolence, "The price we hope you’ll pay is the lives of these undesirable women. You don’t need to do it personally; during the subsequent battle, if any one of them dies, for whatever reason, you will get the body of a man we promised. If two die, that body will be of Legendary Rank. If three die.heheh, you will receive the body of a male Winged person not over two hundred years old. Even after the ritual ends and my lord descends again, purifying this world with a tide of death will not be a matter of decades, and the Winged clan at the mountain’s summit can last for centuries. Thus, you can truly spend your life with your friends in the body of an actual sentient being. Moreover, if the death toll reaches the maximum of five, heheh, it would not be too difficult for my lord to take a few hundred years to help a homesick soul find its way back home. What do you think? No need to rush answering; I swear upon the Divine Throne of my lord that this promise will always be valid."

This time, Pannis’ expression finally changed, and so did Dillie’s. The mane on the Scorpion-tailed lion bristled, and with a great roar, he leapt into the corridor, and in a blink, all the magical beasts alongside the corridor and the young women behind Pannis vanished from the spot.